Read the book? No
Seen the movie? Yes

A lot of Hitchcock’s films were based off of novels. Daphne du Maurier wrote the stories that Hitchcock later turned in to the films Rebecca and The Birds. The Birds was actually a novelette from her collection The Apple Tree. There are a couple of noticeable changes in the story when it was adapted. Instead of taking place in England, the movie is set in the San Francisco area but the premise stays the same. Birds go crazy and attack people. For the longest time I put off watching ANY of Hitchcock’s films just because he was so highly regarded I felt that if/when I did watch one of his films I would be disappointed due to such high expectations. Eventually I took a Hitchcock Film Studies class in college. We watched ten Hitchcock films and aside from the instructor’s habit of giving away the ending before we even watch the film, it was a pretty cool class. Out of the Hitchcock films that I have seen, North by Northwest would be my favorite but The Bird would be number two. I could probably pick up a copy of The Apple Tree next time i’m in Powells.

I was going to only post five movies throughout the week, but then I thought of another one after I had already wrote this post. So i’m post my six favorite movies based on books.

Read the book(s)? Yes
Seen the movie? Yes

I’ve heard a lot of negative criticism about this movie. Specifically about the wedding which takes place at the end of The Bad Beginnings but in the movie it now takes place after the events in The Wide Window. If you’re a purist then I can see why you are complaining. But I felt that the movie adaptation did a very good job with the source material. We all know that when a book is made in to a movie the results can sometimes be iffy. Take Sahara with Matthew McConaughey for example. What the heck were they trying to achieve with that movie other than Matthew McConaughey shirtless for practically the entire film. With Lemony Snicket, the movie followed the first three books well enough. Not only that, I thought the casting was really good. Particularly Emily Browning, who can be seen in Sucker Punch, as Violet Baudelaire. Then you also have Jim Carrey, Billy Connolly, Meryl Streep, and Jude Law. Wikipedia also lists Jane Lynch and Helena Bonham Carter as having small roles in the film. I would have to watch it again to confirm that though. You can never been too sure with Wikipedia nowadays.

The film was also my first taste of the Series of Unfortunate Events. I only started reading the books after seeing the movie.

Yet another children’s books being adapted in to a film.

I can’t say i’ve read the book. Can’t say I want to see the movie either. Politics and trains, those are two of my least favorite subjects. Also, the book was quite large wasn’t it. Seems they can’t fit it all in to a single movie seeing as how this is going to be a trilogy. I wonder if they pulled a Lord of the Rings and shot all three at once or are waiting to see how Part One does at the box office.

While shopping at Powells last week, I managed to find a hardcover, first-edition copy of Max Barry’s Jennifer Government. My paperback copy suffered some unfortunate water damage, so I needed a replacement copy. When I got home I found this (New Yorker?) cartoon between the pages. It made me worry slightly.

Anyway, I’ll probably still read the book with minimal worry. However, if I do contract SARS or something equally as deadly, please blame the used book industry.

Speaking of Max Barry, did you see that Darren Aronofsky is set to direct the movie adaptation of Max Barry’s latest book, Machine Man?

Catching Fire (Hardcover)
by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic Press, September 2009
391 Pages

Spoilers ahead, just FYI

I wasn’t quite sure where the story would go after Hunger Games. As we last left our hero, Katniss and Peeta had just won the Hunger Games. Now that 6 months has past, it is time for the traditional victory tour of the 12 Districts. Their first stop is District 11, home district of Rue who died in the most recent Hunger Games. In the previous book, the reader is only told little bits and pieces of the other districts but Katniss never travels to them. I was interested to see how all the different districts would react to being forced to throw a celebration for two kids who had hunted other kids from the district. However, District 11 is the only one that gets time devoted to it. All the others are quickly glossed over and forgotten. Oh, and then Peeta pops the question in an attempt to stop the uprisings that have started as a result of Katniss eating some berries at the end of the first book. As Katniss prepares for the wedding which she is dreading, she is recruited once again to compete in the Hunger Games along with Peeta.

Really?

We’re using the same plot device from the first book? The main appeal of the first book was the suspense of reading about the competition. But by going back in to the Hunger Games, it felt as if Suzanne Collins was acknowledging what made the first book good and just rehashing the same material. I was disappointed. After I finished the book and had some time to think about it, I concluded that Catching Fire serves the purpose of setting up the third act. The story needs to go from point A to point C but along the way it must pass through an awkward point B. There needed to be a transition from Katniss winning the Hunger Games in book one to leading a rebellion in the third book. Much like The Matrix movies, the first entry in the series was good, but as it became a success there came a need to produce sequels which tried to add more complexity to what the first established. As a result we get more of the same in terms of action but the plot seems to take a backseat.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked The Matrix Reloaded just as much as I liked Catching Fire. Both were entertaining, and I don’t regret investing my time with them. In the end, though, I would have been content with just ending the Hunger Games series after the first book. I love/hate books that have nebulous endings. On one hand I want to know what happens to the characters. On the other, leaving a bunch of unanswered questions fosters discussion about the book for years to come. I remember reading The Giver andFahrenheit 451 in high school and being appalled by the openness of their finales but those books had a more lasting impression on me than the other books I was forced to read.

Second Opinions:
Wands and Worlds
Devourer of Books
The Book Smugglers
The Speculative Scotsman

Did you know that Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides is based off the book On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers? Did you also know that On Stranger Tides is considered to be one of the main inspirations for the Monkey Island video game series? It was seem this book is highly influential. I should probably get around to reading it huh?

Anyway, books and pirates! Two of my favorite subjects. Did you see the teaser trailer yet? It doesn’t tease much other than the fact they are making a 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I loved the first, hated the second, and never saw the third. Who knows how I will feel about the forth.

Wes Anderson, the director of Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, is a director that people love, yet I have no idea why. His movies are quirky but not “good” in my opinion. On the bright side, Anderson’s continual casting of Bill Murray makes up for his continual casting of Owen Wilson.

This fall Anderson will be releasing The Fantastic Mr. Fox in theaters starring all the people from his previous films plus George Clooney. It’s stop motion and reminds me of The Mouse and the Motorcycle.